BPOV
I stare at the sparkly diamond on my ring finger.
I never have really been a fan of jewelry or one to wear something one might consider so ostentatious, but when Edward was holding it nestled in the Tiffany's box while he was down on one knee it became one of my most prized possessions.
I knew he took Ang with him to pick it out because he wanted it to be something that I'd want to wear for the rest of my life.
As soon as I laid eyes on it I made the decision that I'd never remove it, well at least when I left the house I wouldn't.
My mother collected her engagement rings like they were trophies. She had mentioned that the one Charlie had given her was her smallest and most invaluable.
Hearing her say that had gutted me for Charlie's own sake. They were so young when they got engaged and it was all he could afford at the time.
I was young when she had said this and vowed I would only marry for love not for the value of my ring.
A throat clears in the doorway of my office.
I look up to see Rose glaring.
"When you're done, my uncle needs to see us in his office," she all but sneers before she turns on her heel and heads in the direction of her uncle's office.
I sigh.
She would choose the moment when I was admiring my ring to summon me. I normally wouldn't fawn over it but again I got wrapped up in my thoughts yet again.
~PR~
"What's got your ass lit on fire?" Ang asks as she twists around on the couch to watch me.
"I'm running late to meet Rose," I tell her while I run a hand through my hair and look for my keys.
"Didn't she ghost you?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.
Ang isn't wrong, since the benefit dinner Rose has been giving me the cold shoulder. She also couldn't possibly know about my weekly lunches with her brother.
"She's been busy with school like I have," I lie.
"Uh-huh," she says, not buying it. "Rose is a frenemy."
"Angela—"
"Just hear me out, Bells," she says, holding her hand up.
I sigh,
"Okay, I'm listening."
"I've said this to you before but I think you need this more laid out for you… she made sure she buddied up with the smartest person in her classes. The person who would be her only competition… you. As soon as she figured out it was you she pulled you in close so she could keep an eye on you. What she didn't expect is her brother's interest in you," she says smugly, like she knows this is the case.
"I'd like to think she's not that big of a monster," I argue.
"Tyler had a thing for you that first night I met all of them," she tells me.
"He did not," I say, shaking my head.
"He definitely told Pete he was going to get into your pants that night," she says matter-of-factly.
I frown because the night I introduced Ang to my law school friends was the night I started hooking up with Pete.
"I'm not around them like you are, so I don't really know enough to tell you to steer clear completely, but I know girls like Rose," she says with distaste. "They have always had things handed to them and when someone is a threat to that, they make sure to put the kibosh on it."
I'm a little surprised that she's been holding this much of her opinion back from me since she's so direct about everything else.
"Just be aware," she warns before turning back around to the TV.
I grab my keys and mull over what she just disclosed in the Uber I ordered to take me to the bar.
She isn't wrong. There are times when I feel like Rose is watching me for a reaction or response to certain social situations. She always sits next to me in the classes we share and questions my notes.
I've never had what she described as a frenemy. In Seattle, I always tried to blend in and didn't want to step on anyone's toes. Mike would say I was non-confrontational.
I think maybe that's how he got away with what he did for so long. Like subconsciously I knew something was going on.
Right before we pull up to my destination I see I have a text from Edward waiting for me.
Are you busy tonight? – E
A part of me wants to invite him out but that would only cause more tension between me and Rose.
So I opted to tell him my location without inviting him.
Meeting your sister at Best Bar now. – B
I see … is the response in my text box before getting out of the Uber.
I run a hand through my hair once I'm in the bar looking to see where Rose is sitting. After my second scan, I catch a platinum blonde bob turn and look at me, she is facing Rose who is now innocently waving me over.
I grin and bear it.
"Hey," I greet as I approach the table.
"I was just telling Tanya that you might be standing us up," she teases but I can see something else in her eyes.
Satisfaction.
"Never," I say breezily.
I see the superiority of her smile fall just slightly before she regains its gleam again.
"Tanya," I acknowledge. "So nice to see you again."
She gives me her best fake smile.
I know for whatever this is they both have had to plan this out beforehand, but I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me sweat. I have done nothing wrong.
"Here, come have a seat by me," Rose says, patting the seat beside her.
I scoot into the booth and shrug out of my coat.
"I'm so sorry we couldn't hang out until now, school has been busy, you know?" Rose tells me and all it sounds is fake.
She never talked to me like this.
It's like she hasn't known me these last eight months.
This is how she speaks to acquaintances.
"Yes, very time-consuming," I agree.
I notice Tanya staring but I brush it off.
"Edward's been keeping Tanya pretty busy, right T?" Rose asks and I'm a little surprised she was being this direct.
Tanya nods and a grin slowly spreads on her face.
"Work will do that to you," I say flippantly, which earns me a glare from both of them.
They wanted to ambush me and I refused to let them try to get a rise out of me.
"You've been quite busy yourself, Bella," Rose says almost accusingly.
"I have been," I say with a smile. "Work and school."
I see something flash on both their faces but the waitress stops by to take our order. I stick to a Heineken while both Rose and Tanya order the house margarita.
"You seem like one of the guys," Tanya muses after the waitress leaves with our orders.
I frown.
"How do you mean?" I ask.
"You choose beer over cocktails," she points out.
"It's a preference, I'm not a fan of sugary drinks," I explain.
"I bet men love that," she says dryly.
"I've never heard an opinion on my choice of beverage," I tell her as Rose watches me.
"Pete said he likes your lack of fussiness," Rose quips sweetly.
"That's nice of him," I respond.
Because I am blindsided and don't understand the purpose of this little meeting of the minds I try and keep my reactions neutral.
"Pete's a perfectly nice guy," she replies right back.
"Then maybe you should give him a shot," I shrug.
Our waitress is back with our drinks and I take a long pull of my beer, feeling my phone frequently buzzing from my bag on my lap.
I ignore it as Rose decides to go back in on this spat.
"You know I'm with Tyler," she says evenly like I'm being dramatic.
"Yes, but you seem so very fond of Pete since you love to hype him up," I point out.
"I'm not the one who let him into my pants the first week of classes," she says innocently.
"What can I say, he wore me down," I added dryly.
"You love the attention men give you," Tanya states now deciding to join in.
I want to look horrified by what she's implying but I'm not biting.
"I can't say I receive a lot of attention from men, but Pete has been overly persistent. Now it's starting to border on uncomfortable since I told him we should only be friends," I tell them both feeling like I need to be as clear with them as Ang was with me earlier.
Both try to hold their retorts.
I roll my eyes and take a sip of my drink.
I turn my head just slightly catching movement over at the bar.
Edward.
His face looks relieved when he knows I see him.
Unfortunately, Rose also notices him too.
They both become locked in a glare-off, the tension between them palpable.
He quickly makes his way over to our table and stands closest to me.
"Edward," Tanya beams.
He throws some cash onto the table and holds his hand out to me.
"C'mon we're leaving," he tells me, wiggling his fingers impatiently.
"You've been sneaking around with my brother," Rose accuses and I think she was waiting for the right time to spew that accusation out.
"Bella and I are friends," he defends. "I thought she was your friend too, but whatever this is, isn't how we treat our friends, Rosalie."
I'm a little stunned that he's calling both of them out and people are now watching our table. I get my coat on and slip my hand into his.
He smiles at this.
"How could you humiliate Tanya like this," Rose says loudly over the crowd.
"Humiliate Tanya?" he asks as the fury in his voice grows. "Rose, you hate Tanya and have insulted her to her face in every interaction the two of you have had over the past decade. Cut the shit."
She looks horrified, but I see if for the act it is.
His hand tightens around mine and he pulls us away from the table before Tanya has a chance to open her mouth.
"You're here," I say once we're outside.
"You weren't answering my texts… Before she left the studio today, I overheard Tanya mention that she was going to Best Bar to one of the principal flutists. I knew something was up as soon as you told me where you were heading," he finishes running a hand through his hair with the hand that isn't still holding mine.
"I honestly wouldn't have come if I knew she was scheming with Tanya," I say with a sigh.
He tilts his head and looks at me.
"Have dinner with me?" he asks me while we're standing in the middle of the sidewalk.
"You didn't have plans tonight?" I ask skeptically.
"I was headed home when you texted," he says with a shrug.
"Dinner is very date-like," I point out trying to hide my smile.
"Dinner can be very date-like," he agrees with an easy grin.
He takes me to Piccolo Sogno and we have our first… dinner.
~PR~
I sigh before I push away from my desk to stand and make my way into Jasper Sr.'s office.
"You really should smile more, Rosie," I hear him tell Rosalie as I enter the room. "Ah Bella, you're here."
I smile and take a seat next to Rose.
"I was impressed with the way you handled Lucy Wallen's case and wanted you to assist Rosie and Alec on the Hunter pre-trial research," he tells me.
I see Rose's jaw clench.
"Are you sure, sir?" I ask hesitantly knowing this would be the first case Rose and I have ever worked on together.
"I think the three of you could be my next dream team," he states without any doubt.
I could already tell by the look on Rose's face that she was biting her tongue.
If anyone was the wronged party here, it would be me. I should be the one angry with her for all of her schemes over the past few years but I love her brother so much that I overlook it.
Edward learned to ignore her antics and I'd say he was doing a wonderful job up until recently. So, I adopted the same kind of approach when it came to her, be kind and she'll look like the asshole.
Over time, I accepted that Angela was right that Rose only befriended me in the beginning so she could keep me close, along with her doing that, she took advantage of the kind of friend I was.
Loyal.
When Tyler broke up with her it was my couch that she slept on after she passed out from too much tequila.
I never told her she wasn't welcome in my home.
I couldn't because I didn't want Esme or Carlisle to think I was keeping Edward from his sister in anyway.
With Rose, I was learning to live with grinning and bearing it.
"I already discussed this with Alec since he is lead counsel. Obviously, he had a hand in picking you Bella since you were the one to win the Wallen case," he further explains.
"I bet he had a hand," Rose mumbles.
"What was that Rosie?" her uncle asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," she just about snaps.
He nods before handing us both a file.
"Let me know if you need anything," he tells us as he dismisses us.
Rose throws her chair back in a huff before she leaves.
"If she gives you any trouble, let me know," he says, giving my shoulder a squeeze before he sits at his desk and gives his laptop his full attention.
I knew Rose was going to cause me a lot of trouble.
A/N: My intentions weren't to make Rose a villain but she is just flowing out that way. Last week was busy so hopefully I can have Friday's update complete in time this week. Thanks for all who are reading and reviewing!